Which Apple Watch should you buy? The decision in four questions

With smartwatches the choice is harder to survey than with phones, because every generation comes with several sizes, materials and connectivity variants. Four questions narrow it down quickly.

Question 1: GPS or Cellular?

The Cellular variant has its own mobile connection and works without a phone nearby. That pays off if you go running or swimming without your phone and still want to be reachable. It does require a matching subscription add on with your Swiss provider, which costs a monthly fee. If you carry the watch together with the phone anyway, the GPS variant saves you money at purchase and permanently on the subscription.

Question 2: which case size?

There is a smaller and a larger variant of each. The larger one shows more text and has a slightly bigger battery, the smaller one sits more comfortably on slim wrists. That is hard to decide in theory, so try it on if you can. Important when buying used: straps fit within a size family, but not freely across all generations. Check that before you buy an expensive strap.

Question 3: aluminium or stainless steel?

Aluminium is lighter and cheaper, stainless steel is heavier, keeps its shine better and comes with more robust front glass. For sport aluminium is usually the more pleasant choice, because the weight is noticeable on the wrist. For daily office use it is a matter of taste.

Question 4: how long should it last?

As with phones: the update period runs from the market launch of the model. A very old watch will at some point stop receiving a new operating system, and over time apps and functions fall away. A generation that is one to three years old is therefore usually the best compromise between price and remaining useful life.

The point many people miss when buying used

The battery. A smartwatch has a very small cell, which ages correspondingly faster than the one in a phone. A watch that only lasts half a day is unusable in everyday life, because it is empty exactly when you need it. So pay attention to the tested condition rather than only to the price. With us every device goes through the same diagnostics, more on that in PhoneCheck explained. You can find the current selection under Watch.

Conclusion

GPS is enough for most people, the wrist decides the size, aluminium is the more practical choice. And when buying used the battery condition matters more than the generation. If you have an old watch or an old phone to hand over, you can sell both and put the value towards your purchase.